This Month
- Opinion
- Opinion
Why Albanese should stare down the Greens
If Labor’s 2030 target is blocked by the Greens, most would expect Anthony Albanese to crab walk away. But a double dissolution could give Labor a majority in the Senate with the support of 19 teals.
- John Black
- Opinion
- Opinion
Labor learns government is not so easy as it seemed in opposition
It is silly that a prime minister should have to justify his trip to the NATO summit. But that’s the upshot of complaining your way into office.
- Phillip Coorey
June
- Opinion
- Opinion
Anthony Albanese’s Paris trip a final act of contrition to the French
Twenty-six years ago France was the most hated country in the region. France is still unloved, but Australia is happy to have another nuclear-armed ally in the Pacific.
- Phillip Coorey
- Opinion
- Anthony Albanese
Labor is planning to win next election off its own bat
Winning power with just 32.8 per cent of the primary vote was rather weird. But it leaves ample scope to build on and consolidate that support over the next three years.
- Phillip Coorey
- Opinion
- Chris Bowen
Rookie government holds its nerve on the gas trigger
After being snowed by the energy companies at first, Chris Bowen and Madeleine King have announced plans to toughen the domestic reserve mechanism.
- Phillip Coorey
- Opinion
- Anthony Albanese
Liberals will let teal seats stew on lack of power for now
Peter Dutton said the path back to government runs through the suburbs, regions and small business. He says he has not abandoned the blue-ribbon seats lost to teal independents.
- Phillip Coorey
May
From Biden to bin night: Albanese’s big week out
Anthony Albanese’s performance in Tokyo was welcomed by Quad allies nervous at the prospect of a Labor government and whether it would stand up to Beijing.
- Phillip Coorey
- Opinion
- Scott Morrison
Law of the jungle swallows fear of budget black hole
From the working classes to the chattering classes, almost everyone seems to have abandoned the need to even consider budget discipline.
- Phillip Coorey
- Opinion
- Scott Morrison
Albanese averages a gaffe a week, voters don’t seem to care
Anthony Albanese wages foray was unplanned and unscientific but has moved the conversation to Labor’s turf
- Phillip Coorey
- Opinion
- Scott Morrison
Last two weeks a goalmouth scramble for Morrison
The Coalition is a bit like the polar bear on a shrinking ice floe. This election is as much about not losing voters as it is about trying to win new ones.
- Phillip Coorey
April
Is a mid-campaign rate rise about to torpedo the government?
The prospect of higher interest rates makes this economic battle one about winning the relativities.
- Phillip Coorey
- Opinion
- Federal election
Teal independents pick up where the Democrats left off
The Climate 200 candidates running in rich Liberal seats are new. But in terms of appeal, they are a reheated version of the Australian Democrats.
- Phillip Coorey
- Opinion
- Opinion
This election is going to be a sprint to the finish
Anthony Albanese wanted to be kicking with the wind in the final quarter. But he may find himself defending an early lead for too long against a scrapper like Scott Morrison.
- Phillip Coorey
- Opinion
- Opinion
Scott Morrison becomes a punching bag for Labor and Liberals alike
Days before an election is called, Morrison is not just the nation’s leader, he is the national punching bag.
- Phillip Coorey
March
- Opinion
- Opinion
Morrison puts all his chips on the budget roulette wheel
If the budget shifts the polling dial even a fraction this weekend, there may be grounds for hope. Or despair if it does not.
- Phillip Coorey
- Opinion
- Anthony Albanese
Sanctimony is a dangerous card to play in politics
Those who warned that the weaponisation of the term “bullying” for political purposes was an exercise in mutually assured destruction have been vindicated.
- Phillip Coorey
- Opinion
- Opinion
Mean girls and boys’ clubs plague all the parties
Once more in politics, we have serious allegations being levied by friends of a dead woman. This time, however, it concerns Labor.
- Phillip Coorey
- Opinion
- Anthony Albanese
Why business is pining for workplace reform
It is easy to talk a big game about consensus government in the style of Hawke and Keating, but Labor’s opposition to the omnibus industrial relations bill does not inspire confidence.
- Phillip Coorey
- Opinion
- Scott Morrison
Just 10 weeks until election day and both sides are nervous
Labor’s done the right thing supporting the government on Ukraine. But it also underscores just how mindful the party is that it can still lose it from here.
- Phillip Coorey
February
McGowan gets the speed wobbles and goes out there
The Premier’s unctuous piety shows the world’s most popular pandemic leader is on the defensive. But whether conservative voters will come back to the fold remains a delicate dance in the west.
- Phillip Coorey
